


Mistletoe Misadventures

by KamikazeWorld



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Christmas Party, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, I had a lot of fun with this actually, Kissing, M/M, Mistletoe, Mutual Pining, Pining, dumb boys in love, even though it's late af now lmao, there is so much pining here you guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 11:10:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17661449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KamikazeWorld/pseuds/KamikazeWorld
Summary: "Freeze!" Rich shouted suddenly, making both of them jump before freezing up as instructed."W-what?" Jeremy squeaked. He looked at Rich, who had a devilish grin on his face, and then looked at the others on the couch when he heard catcalling and cheers."Look above you, nerds," Rich said, clearly enjoying himself, and Jeremy felt dread crawl its way up his spine."We're under the mistletoe, aren't we," Michael muttered, completely deadpan.





	Mistletoe Misadventures

It was the days between Christmas and New Years, and both Jeremy and Michael had been invited to Brooke’s annual Christmas party, even though Jeremy didn’t even celebrate the holiday (though, to be fair, what teenager was _actually_ there because it was Christmas?). It was a slightly smaller party than usual, which just meant that half the school thankfully wasn’t invited for once, something Jeremy was secretly very grateful for. It made it easier to relax and mostly stick with his actual friends while he was there, and he quickly found that he was actually enjoying himself. Heck, he was pretty sure even Michael was enjoying himself, and he hated social gatherings and only really came because Jeremy was going (or so he claimed, at least, but Jeremy knew he had started feeling safe enough with the others, too).

So that’s how he found himself with a cup of soda on Brooke’s couch, crammed between Jake and Jenna, and laughing at Rich’s attempt at “sexy” dancing to some obnoxious Christmas song. He might not have celebrated the holiday in question, but the opportunity to have fun with his friends really was nice.

“You sure you don’t want a beer or something?” Jake asked him for what was probably the fifth time that night. Jeremy shook his head.

“Nah, I’m not really feeling it. Besides, I don’t want to leave Michael being sober all alone, since he has to drive us home later.” Which was true; Michael was his designated driver and had to stick to soda, so it only felt right that Jeremy followed suit. The thought had him searching the vast living room for the boy in question, finding him in an animated conversation with Brooke about something or other. He smiled at the sight, glad to know Michael was able to relax and enjoy himself despite the amount of people. Seeing him happy filled Jeremy’s chest with a pleasant fluttery feeling, and he could honestly say he never wanted it to go away.

Next to him, Jake shrugged.

“Suit yourself, man.”

Jake turned away from him to shout encouragements at Rich (who was now shirtless, for some reason), and Jeremy found himself laughing. He shook his head and stood up, eyes once again finding his best friend at the other end of the room. Pushing his way through the groups of people mingling and dancing to upbeat remixes of Christmas songs, he slowly made his way over to Michael and Brooke, all while ignoring the way Jenna watched him as he left; he knew she saw more of everything and everyone than he would ever be comfortable with.

“Hey guys,” he greeted when he was close enough. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, Jeremy, hi!” Brooke greeted back. “Michael was just telling me about this documentary, about cheetahs and how their babies look like terrifying monster badgers, apparently. It’s pretty cool.”

“Right?” Michael agreed excitedly. “And they’re so docile and anxious that one zoo actually gave them support dogs. It’s wild!”

“You’re so smart, Michael,” Brooke said suddenly, making Michael stop in his tracks and blink. Jeremy tried to hold back a laugh at his surprised face. “You know so many weird and interesting things!”

“Well, I mean…” Michael trailed off and shuffled awkwardly. He was blushing.

“He is really smart,” Jeremy agreed, and did actually laugh when Michael turned around to give him a betrayed look. “Did you know he actually plays puzzle games for fun? And he managed to beat them in, like, no time at all. It’s crazy!”

“Jeremy…” Michael had a warning tone when he spoke, which Jeremy knew meant that he was embarrassed and wanted him to lay off. But he also knew that Brooke was a great person and wouldn’t actually judge; she had her own share of geeky interests that she indulged in when Chloe wasn’t looking over her shoulder.

“That’s awesome!” she exclaimed, eyes wide and clearly impressed. “Is that why you’re so witty?”

“Uh, well…”

“Nah, he’s just always been like that. I’m pretty sure we both got detention once as kids because he sassed the teacher so hard when she got something wrong.”

“Whaaat, for real? Michael, that’s the coolest!”

“He is definitely the coolest,” Jeremy agreed, elbowing his friend with a teasing grin.

“Wow, okay! That’s enough of that,” Michael protested, his face beet red, and Jeremy laughed while Brooke tried to hide a giggle behind her hand.

After a moment, when his laughing had calmed down, he inched closer to Michael and lowered his voice, trying to make sure only Michael could hear.

“But seriously, are you doing okay? Everything still good?” he asked quietly, searching Michael’s face for any sign of genuine discomfort or anxiety. Instead, he was met with a soft, reassuring smile that made his stomach twist and flutter just so.

“Don’t worry, I’m okay. It’s not so bad when you’re actually friends with the people hosting the party,” Michael laughed. He pressed his side against Jeremy’s, a gesture of comfort; a silent thank you for checking in with him. Jeremy smiled back and had to fight off the urge to lean in even closer and hug him. A party with half-drunk teens was not the time or place. Briefly, he feared what he might’ve done if he actually was one of those half-drunk teens.

“Good,” he whispered, then turns to Brooke as well. “Sorry, but I’m gonna ditch you two now. I actually really need to use the bathroom?” It ended up sounding like a question, and he internally cursed his awkwardness. “Where’s the, uh…”

“Bathroom’s down the hallway, that way,” Brooke answered, pointing to the opposite end of the living room. Jeremy gave her a grateful smile and left his friends to continue their conversation.

He waded through the groups of people mingling about or dancing on the living room floor, and just as he was about to go out into the hallway, he just narrowly avoided crashing right into another one of his friends.

“Christine!” he exclaimed, blinking as he tried to steady himself again. “Where have you been all night? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages.”

“Oh, well, it's a funny story, actually,” she laughed. “I got roped into a debate about--” she paused, stared blankly ahead for a moment. “Something,” she finished up with a dismissive wave of her hand. “We moved through a couple topics, I can’t really remember anymore. I have no idea who I was even talking to! I know they're in our math class, but I have no idea what their names are. Oh no, I should've asked them, shouldn't I?”

“Uhh, w-well, I think it's fine? You can ask them later,” Jeremy tried to assure her. She sighed.

“I suppose. So what are you--”

She was cut off by Chloe calling out to them. They turned to her, wondering what she wanted, and Jeremy felt a sinking feeling when he spotted the downright predatory smirk she sported.

“Look up, theater dorks,” she shouted. Jeremy did, and nearly choked on his spit.

Above them was a mistletoe. An honest to god mistletoe. _Why?_

“Oh,” he heard Christine say. _Oh_ , as if that's an appropriate reaction to being stuck under a mistletoe with your friend who is also your ex.

“Um… I--... it’s-- uh…” Jeremy was stammering. _Great._ Real smooth, there. Thankfully, Christine knew him well by now, and decided to take pity on him. She gave him a reassuring smile before she leaned up and placed a quick, soft peck against his cheek.

“There you go. Are you okay?” she asked, completely ignoring Chloe booing and grumbling about how they were “no fun” while sipping on her beer. Jeremy briefly wondered how much she had had, before deciding he didn’t want to know. Instead, he gave Christine a nod as answer to her question. “Good. I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t! Don’t worry, seriously. I’m just…” he trailed off, rubbing his hands on his jeans awkwardly. “Who even puts up mistletoes outside of dumb, cheesy Christmas movies?”

“I think it’s a bit romantic, actually,” Christine replied with a small laugh. “Though just be glad you weren’t in the room before Rich and Jake got banned from going near it. They kept making out every five minutes, it was gross,” she explained, nose wrinkled but still grinning.

“Ew, what? How can they… I mean, don’t they have any concept of, I don’t know, public decency?” Jeremy asked. Christine just gave him a look, as if saying “have you even met our friends? Of course they don’t!” Which was probably fair. He was indeed glad he had somehow missed the shameless display of public affection, and even that there was a mistletoe hung up in the first place. It was frankly amazing he hadn’t gotten caught under it before then, and it was probably lucky it was with Christine and not someone else, like Chloe, or Rich, or a total stranger. Briefly, unbidden, he found his eyes wandering back to Michael at the other end of the room, finding him easily even through the sea of mingling teenagers. For just a moment, he was sure he caught Michael’s eyes, before Michael turned his head back to Brooke. He thought he looked just a bit flustered, maybe, but it was hard to tell from the distance. It was also, a little metaphorical voice in the back of Jeremy’s head whispered, probably only wishful thinking.

“Jeremy? Are you okay?” Christine asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Oh, uh, what? I mean, yes! Yeah. I’m fine, totally,” he rambled. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Christine scrutinized him for a few seconds, all while Jeremy was screaming internally over his blunder. Then she shook her head and sighed, giving him a fond smile.

“If you say so.”

“Yeah… I, uh… I actually need to… You know.” He gestured in the direction of where Brooke had said the bathroom would be, and Christine nodded in seeming understanding. “I’ll see you around?”

“Sure! Sorry to keep you,” she said, and after reassuring that she hadn’t, really, and a final shared smile, Jeremy finally managed to make it to the bathroom without any further interruptions or distractions.

While he was in there, he tried to calm the last of his anxieties down. How had he not noticed the mistletoe until then? Or gotten stuck under it, for that matter. Now that he was aware of it, he vowed to stay as far away from it as possible, so as to avoid any further instances of awkwardness and total mortification and/or humiliation. In spite of himself, he found his mind going back to Michael, wondering if he had known about the mistletoe, or if he had gotten caught unawares at any point as well. The idea made something clench uncomfortably in his chest, though, so he quickly pushed those thoughts away and instead mentally prepared himself to rejoin the party.

As the night progressed, Jeremy found himself relaxing more. He joined in on some dumb drinking games (even though he still wasn’t drinking anything but soda himself) and laughed freely at his friends’ wild antics and dares. At some point Michael had sat down next to him, with a grin and an affectionate shoulder bump, which filled Jeremy with soft happiness. They stayed like that, shoulder to shoulder, for most of the social games and gossips.

Jeremy knew that Michael used to seek comfort in his presence, especially in environments with a lot of people like they were currently in, but as much as Michael took comfort in Jeremy’s presence, the same was true in reverse. In fact, Michael was more than just comfort and safety for Jeremy; he was his best friend, and the best person he ever met. He was too forgiving and too good, even with his petty streaks and his sometimes weird interests, and Jeremy loved him. He really, truly did.

“What?” Michael asked, eyebrow rises and lips quirked up curiously, effectively pulling Jeremy out of his musings enough to realize he’d been staring at his best friend. He felt his cheeks grow warm.

“Nothing,” he rushed out. “Just… Thinking about how lucky I am, I guess.”

“How so? I mean, you’ve been smiling a lot. Which is great! It’s a good thing, you have a beu-- _great_ , you have a great smile. Uh,” Michael trailed off, cheeks dusted pink, and Jeremy laughed. He knew his face was just as pink, if not more.

“It’s really nothing, man,” he assured. “I just realized I have some pretty great friends. I don’t know what I did to deserve you all. Especially you.”

It was true; Jeremy had done some very awful things in the past, and wouldn’t have for a second blamed Michael if he decided to move on from him, to find a better best friend. But despite all that, Michael still stayed, still remained his Player One and his support and ally against the rest of the world. Karma was either a complete lie, or he’d done some great things in his past life, because there was no way his karma in his current life was good enough to keep someone like Michael close.

Several emotions seemed to flit over Michael’s face for a few seconds, until he eventually settled on a concerned frown. Jeremy felt a brief flash of panic. Had he said the wrong thing or messed up somehow? Or had he managed to say too much and give his feelings away?

“Jeremy,” Michael started slowly, and Jeremy swallowed. “Are you doing that thing where you put yourself down and think you’re unworthy or something equally dumb again? Because you know that’s not true.”

Of all the things Michael could have said, Jeremy had not expected him to figure out that part of his thoughts. Then again, Michael knew him better than anyone, even his own father, so it shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did. Caught off guard, Jeremy opened his mouth to reply, to deflect or try to come up with a lie, but before he got the chance to say anything, a girl loudly called out for someone to go grab her another beer from the kitchen.

“I’ll do it!” Jeremy called back, jumping on the chance to get away. He hurriedly got on his feet and ignored Michael’s concerned eyes following him all the way out of the room.

When he got to the kitchen, Jeremy leaned against the counter and tried to take slow, steadying breaths in an attempt to calm his racing heartbeat. Michael was too sharp; he knew him well enough to spot all his tells. But he also just cared _so much_ that Jeremy didn’t know how to handle it. It made him feel happy and desperate and near miserable all at once, to have that kind attention directed at him. He was silently thankful for his decision to stay clear of alcohol, shuddering at the thought of what a mess he would have been if this was how he reacted while sober.

Finally feeling calm enough, he grabbed the beer he’d been asked for and started making his way back to the living room. As he turned to exit the kitchen, however, he walked right into someone, only just managing to not spill beer all over himself in the process. He looked up, and his eyes widened at the sight of his best friend blinking down at him.

“Woah, Michael! Shit, sorry, I didn’t see you,” he said, feeling a bit sheepish.

“It's fine,” Michael shrugged. “You were just taking a while, and I wanted to check if everything was okay.” Jeremy nodded, momentarily distracted by the soft smile his friend was giving him. “So, is it?” he asked when Jeremy failed to reply.

“I--”

"Freeze!" Rich shouted suddenly, making both of them jump before freezing up as instructed.

"W-what?" Jeremy squeaked. He looked at Rich, who had a devilish grin on his face, and then looked at the others on the couch when he heard catcalling and cheers.

"Look above you, nerds," Rich said, clearly enjoying himself, and Jeremy felt dread crawl its way up his spine.

"We're under the mistletoe, aren't we," Michael muttered, completely deadpan.

They were under the mistletoe. Someone had moved it from the hallway. After carefully trying to avoid it all night, Jeremy still got stuck under it. And with Michael, of all people!

"Come on," Jake called, "you know the rules! Kiss!"

"D-do we have to?" Jeremy tried, but he instantly got booed. He gulped and glanced up at Michael, who was resolutely not looking back. His face was red, he noticed, which made him feel just a little bit better about how badly his own cheeks were burning.

Their friends were chanting "kiss, kiss, kiss" at them, and Jeremy thought his heart might beat right out of his chest.

"Guess we have to do this, huh?" he asked, trying to go for humor but probably missing, with how shaky he sounded. Michael laughed, sounding a little odd.

"Yep," he replied. He finally looked at Jeremy, and his heart was on the verge of stopping.

"This, uh. This isn't weird, right?"

"Nah, it’s-- it’s just a small kiss between bros!"

"Y-yeah. Bros. Okay."

"Stop stalling and just do it!" Chloe shouted, making them both jump. They laughed awkwardly.

"On three?" Michael suggested, giving a nervous smile. Jeremy matched it and nodded.

As they counted down, Jeremy felt as though time had slowed down as his thoughts raced in his mind. It was just an innocent mistletoe kiss, he told himself; it didn’t mean anything, just a dumb tradition acted out by two friends. But as Michael’s face drew closer, and Jeremy’s heart beat faster still, he knew he couldn’t lie to himself. This kiss was going to ruin him, and in turn probably ruin them, because he didn’t think he could ever stop wanting more if he got a taste of Michael’s affection.

Then soft lips touched his, and all his chaotic thoughts stilled. His mind went blank, and all he could focus on was the soft pressure, the pleasant warmth, the sound of an unsteady breath being sucked in through Michael’s nose when they touched. The contact lingered one second, two seconds, three seconds, before they moved apart. When Jeremy opened his eyes (he wondered when he had closed them), Michael’s face knocked the wind out of him all over again. His eyes were still closed, his mouth slightly opened, and his cheeks were bright red. Their faces were still close, and Jeremy wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss him again and again. But then Michael’s eyes opened, and someone (he wasn’t sure who) shouted “get a room!” and they both sprung apart, unable to look at each other.

“H-happy now?” Jeremy asked Rich, who blew a low whistle. He looked impressed, and Jeremy wasn’t sure if the expression made him feel proud or pissed him off.

“Well, that sure was… something,” Christine said, her cheeks pink. Most people nodded in agreement.

“Yeahhh, I’m just… gonna go. Do a thing,” Michael said, inching towards the hallway. “Yeah. Bye!” And with that, he fled the room. Jeremy only nearly managed to resist the urge to hide his face in his hands.

“Oh my god,” he muttered. “Oh my god.”

“Dude, seriously, that was probably the gayest thing I’ve ever seen,” Jake said. “And I’m actually dating a guy.”

Jeremy made a high pitched, distressed noise in the back of his throat and slumped down on the couch where Jenna patted his shoulder somewhat semi-sympathetically.

“You two are weirdly adorable, you know that? I actually got a pretty nice picture, if you want to see,” she offered.

“Absolutely not,” Jeremy choked out. He wondered if his face would ever get back to normal color. Next to him, Jenna shrugged.

“Suit yourself. But you really should do something about all that pining you two have going on.”

“P-pining? What?”

“You know,” she said, giving him a smug grin, “pining. When two people hopelessly long for each other and all that.”

“W-w-what?!” Jeremy nearly shrieked. “We don't-- I'm not-- it’s not like that!”

He tried to lower his volume when he noticed the others giving him glances, feeling his ears and the back of his neck practically burn, but Jenna just laughed.

“Sure it's not. Listen, I'm only saying this for your own good, and because the unresolved sexual tension is getting annoying, but you're clearly not the only one who got super flustered by the mistletoe kiss, Jeremy. It might not be as one-sided as you obviously keep telling yourself. Just a thought.”

Jenna clapped him on the shoulder again and stood up to get another drink, leaving Jeremy alone to sputter half finished protests. Not even two minutes later, just as Jeremy was in the midst of dramatically regretting all of his life choices and contemplating getting new friends entirely, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to check it, only to see that it was a text from Jenna. Curious in spite of himself, and more than a little suspicious, he opened it. His breath caught in his throat.

He was looking at a photo of him and Michael, in the doorway under the damn mistletoe, caught mid-kiss. His first instinct was to hide it away, hope that no one else saw it, but after a few seconds of glancing around and seeing that no one was actually paying him any attention, he went back to looking at the photo. Jeremy himself looked ridiculous, he thought with some mortification, but Michael… Michael was beautiful. Both their eyes were closed and their entire faces blushed red, and one of Michael’s hands was hovering next to Jeremy’s hip, but Jeremy didn’t remember him actually touching him. He thought of Jenna’s words, about how it maybe wasn’t one-sided. Michael in the photo looked… embarrassed, for sure, but also at ease, like he was perfectly comfortable standing there and kissing his best friend. The thought made Jeremy feel like his heart was seconds from beating its way through his ribcage, it was beating so hard.

He swallowed thickly against the lump in his throat and put his phone back in his pocket (after saving the picture, after a few seconds of consideration). He honestly felt like he needed a beer or five for what he was thinking of doing, but he knew he also couldn’t allow himself to do it if he wasn’t sober. With that in mind, he rose from the couch and went through the crowds in search of his best friend. Michael had likely disappeared to the bathroom after the mistletoe kiss had happened, but when Jeremy checked there, he found it empty and unoccupied. As he started going through the rest of the house, he didn’t really stop to talk to anyone except to ask one or two people if they’d seen Michael, afraid that he’d lose his nerve and let himself chicken out if he stopped for anything more than that.

He really hoped he wasn’t wrong, and that Jenna had been right; that Michael did feel that same awful, wonderful, fluttery feeling around him as he did around Michael. He realized that if he was wrong, he could potentially screw up their entire lifelong friendship that even an evil supercomputer had been unable to permanently break, and he wasn’t sure if he would survive that a second time. But then he thought back to the picture now hidden away in his phone - of Michael’s flushed face - and he shook those anxieties away. He just needed to find Michael. All worrying could come after.

Finally, in the third room he checked (which seemed to be a dining hall, because of course Brooke’s family had one of those), Jeremy finally found Michael standing by a bookshelf, seemingly going over the titles as he ignored the other teens loudly laughing and armwrestling by the table. Jeremy noticed that his hood was up, which made him pause. Hood up was usually not a good sign. Momentarily forgetting his plans, Jeremy walked up to stand next to his friend, gently placing a hand on his shoulder once he was sure Michael had noticed his presence.

“Hey man, are you okay?” he asked, and received a jerky nod in return.

“Peachy,” Michael mumbled. His eyes were still trained on the books lined up in front of them, but it was clear he wasn’t really reading them anymore. Jeremy bit his lip in a moment’s hesitation, then threw a glance to the people at the table to see if they were listening, but they didn’t seem to be paying them any attention whatsoever. _Good._

“Is this about the, uh,” Jeremy began, but trailed off, embarrassed and unsure. “The k-kiss?”

He didn’t think he was too wrong about Michael’s feelings, but he did really seem upset at the moment, and it terrified the part of Jeremy that was quick to doubt. Still, he had to know that Michael was okay; that would always come first.

“It’s nothing,” Michael tried to deflect, but his face had darkened to a blush again. “It was just a stupid… Whatever.” Michael ran a hand through his hair, pushing the hood down in the process. He looked agitated, and still wouldn’t look at Jeremy. “I know it doesn’t mean anything. You don’t need worry about it.”

And suddenly, Jeremy had all the answers he needed. He felt like he had been struck by lightning as he turned Michael’s words over in his head. _Did you want it to mean something_ , he thought, but he couldn’t find it in himself to say anything. Instead, he reached out and took Michael’s hand and started pulling him back to the living room, all the while ignoring Michael’s confused protests and people looking.

Soon enough, they found themselves back in the kitchen doorway, just underneath the mistletoe. Jeremy stopped, halting Michael in the process but did not let go of his hand. He turned to face his best friend, took a small step closer to him, and looked up into his wide, beautiful eyes.

“J-Jeremy?” Michael stuttered. His face was completely red, and Jeremy found that he loved it, even if his own face likely wasn’t much better off. “What are you doing?”

“Something I probably should’ve done a long time ago.”

With that, he grabbed Michael by the collar of his hoodie and pulled him in, letting their lips meet maybe just a bit too forcefully, and Michael made a startled, choked off noise. For an agonizing moment, nothing happened, and Jeremy’s mind was already screaming at him that he screwed up, that he had read everything wrong, how stupid was he? But then Michael made another, softer sound and a hand found its way to Jeremy’s cheek, and Michael was kissing him back.

_Michael was kissing him back._

Jeremy was vaguely aware of catcalls coming from somewhere around him and he was pretty sure Jenna was either taking pictures or filming, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care when warm, soft lips were moving slightly, hesitantly against his, unsure and inexperienced and _perfect._ After a few seconds, they moved apart, just a bit, and Michael stared at him with wide eyes. His face was bright red and Jeremy was once again struck by how beautiful he thought he looked like that.

“Wow,” he whispered, and Jeremy laughed. He was filled with such giddiness, he thought he was going to burst with it. Michael had _kissed him back!_

“Wow,” he echoed. His cheeks were hurting with how much he was smiling. “Was, uh… Was that okay?” he asked. Michael blinked.

“Was that-- Oh my god, _yes_ , that was more than okay,” he replied, nodding with an eagerness that made Jeremy laugh again.

“Good. That’s-- that’s good. Because, um, I kind of like you? Like, a lot, actually.”

“Oh. Um, wow. Same?”

Jeremy raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him.

“Did you seriously just--”

“Shut up, I’m still processing,” Michael defended. “You really like me? Like, _like_ -like me? Because obviously I like you too, and I just need to know you’re sure, you know?”

Michael was well on his way to rambling, Jeremy could tell. He rolled his eyes, and, instead of saying anything, leaned up to place a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth.

“Does that answer your question?” he asked back, and Michael spluttered for just a moment before he burst out laughing.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe this is actually happening-- and we’re _still_ standing under the dumb mistletoe!”

As soon as he said it, their friends took the reminder as invitation to join in and voice their opinions.

“About fucking time!” Rich shouted, grinning widely when Jeremy looked over.

“You two are adorable,” Brooke chimed in, a teasing lilt to her voice. Next to her, Chloe was rolling her eyes, but there was something unmistakably affectionate in the way she smirked at them.

“Shut up,” Michael muttered, but Jeremy could hear the joy in his voice and it made him feel all kinds of happy and warm, knowing that he did that; he put that joy there. He couldn’t help laughing as they walked back to the couch, Jake giving him a high five and Christine hugging them on the way. Other people from their school congratulated them too, ranging from awkwardness to drunk excitement, but Jeremy didn’t mind. All he could really think about was Michael’s hand in his, the warmth in his face, and the way his cheeks almost hurt from how much he was smiling. There was inevitable teasing for the next few minutes, and Jenna sent both of them whatever photos and videos she had managed to take during their kiss and confession. It was making them both incredibly flustered and embarrassed, but Jeremy knew it was all in good fun. Still, it didn’t stop him from hiding his burning face in Michael’s hoodie in a weak attempt to escape it.

“Are you okay?” he heard Michael ask, voice filled with both amusement and concern. Jeremy only managed to make a garbled, high pitched noise in return, and then Michael’s hand was on his back, stroking slowly and comfortingly, and Jeremy relaxed just a little. In fact, the comfort Michael provided now that he was allowed to be this close - practically curled into him - made him not want to move away ever again.

Soon enough, things calmed down and people moved on to talking about other things, leaving Michael and Jeremy’s new relationship development alone. The music had at some point during the night switched from Christmas songs to Christmas remixes to regular party music, and a lot of people had managed to get properly drunk, so Jeremy wasn’t all that surprised when Michael’s grip on his hand tightened and he leaned closer.

“Hey, uh, Jeremy?” he whispered, just loud enough to still be heard over the music and chatter.

“Yeah?”

“Things are a little… too much right now,” he explained, and Jeremy fully agreed. “Want to get out of here?”

“God, yes.”

They were quick to say goodbye to anyone they knew who was still there (Jake and Rich had disappeared at some point, and they all had a feeling they did _not_ want to find them) before making their escape.

The walk to Michael’s car was silent. They could still hear the music playing from inside the house, but it all seemed muted in the winter night. Their hands were intertwined between them, and while they both knew there was a lot to talk about, neither boy felt the need to say anything in that moment. Jeremy looked at his foggy breaths, fully visible in the cold December air, while Michael unlocked the car.

“So…” Jeremy started tentatively when they were sitting in the car. “Video games at my place?” Michael gave him a wide grin, one that made Jeremy’s heart jump just so.

“I thought you’d never ask!”

Jeremy didn’t celebrate Christmas. But maybe, he thought as he held Michael’s hand between the seats and his heart felt so full of love he thought it would burst, he could be just a little thankful for the holiday’s weird, cheesy traditions.

**Author's Note:**

> WHOOH! It's late but here's a christmas fic! While it isn't part of my series [Once More With Feelings](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1029440), I did have a loooot of fun with this so I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Come talk with me or ask me about headcanons on my art/writing blog! (I don't upload often but I swear it's not dead lsfigjbslg)  
> <http://my-dreams-start-with-you.tumblr.com/>


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